On YouthFootballOnline: Combining the SW Beast formation and ZoneRunning
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
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There is nothing new under the Sun.
I am always looking at what is successful for other coaches and their systems. While researching the Single wing offense, I discovered the Beast formation. Immediately, I knew that I wanted to add this to my Tool box. The results are below.
The History
The Beast is a formation rooted in the Single wing offense. Its origin can be traced back to the early 1900’s and Yale University.
The Formation
As with all formations, there are countless nuanced variations. You can run Beast as both a balanced and unbalanced (double beast) alignment. For my purposes, I prefer the unbalanced version. This alignment equates to a Wing systems ‘tackle over’ formation. Due to its straight forward nature, the Beast formation is a GREAT play to utilize personnel.
The Formation is heavily unbalanced with 4 players to the call side of the Center. The backfield will align 1 yd off the line in the C, D, and E gaps for Sweep. For the Wedge, the backfield will align 1 yd off the line in the B, C, and D gaps. The S back will be at a depth of 3.5 yds behind the Center to receive the direct snap for both Sweep and Wedge.
Img 1: Beast Formations
The Purpose
- The Beast formation serve’s two primary purposes for us:
- Unstoppable Force: No dancing, no music, just a stampede.
- You CAN Zone block and Wedge
- Present a challenge to the defense: What are they going to do with 7 players to either side of the midline?
The Plays
In our Beast package, we run two plays:
- Sweep (Perimeter)
- S Back to the 7 / 8 hole (Read the block of the QB)
- Wedge (Off-tackle)
- S back to the 5 / 6 hole (Follow the QB to daylight)
I love my QB as much as anyone. ‘Personnel’ as desired.
